Backup Crew

Flight

Spacelab-J - a joint
NASA and National Space Development Agency of Japan
(NASDA) mission using a manned Spacelab module -
conducted microgravity investigations in materials and life sciences. The
international crew, consisting of the first Japanese astronaut (Mamoru
Mohri) to fly aboard the Shuttle, the first African-American
woman (Mae
Jemison) to fly in space and, contrary to normal
NASA policy, the first married couple to fly on the
same space mission (Mark
Lee and
Jan Davis), was divided into red (Curtis
Brown, Mark
Lee and
Mamoru
Mohri) and blue (Jerome
Apt,
Jan Davis and Mae
Jemison) teams for around the clock operations. Spacelab-J
included 24 materials science and 20 life sciences experiments, of which 35
were sponsored by
NASDA, 7 by
NASA and 2 collaborative
efforts.

Spacelab was a 23-foot long pressurized laboratory built
by the European Space Agency specifically for conducting experiments in a
shirt-sleeve environment aboard the Space Shuttle. For Spacelab-J, the long
module was used. It contained a series of equipment racks that hold furnaces,
computer and biological workstations, biological incubators, storage lockers
and other equipment to perform experiments in space. Additional storage space
and experiments was located in the orbiter crew cabin's mid-deck
area.

Protein Crystal Growth: This research field seeks to develop
higher quality protein crystals than those developed on Earth and understand
their internal crystalline order. Protein crystals on the Spacelab-J mission
were grown in two scientific instruments, each relying on a different technique
to promote crystallization: vapor diffusion and liquid/liquid
diffusion.Proteins are complex amino-acid compounds present in all life
forms. They perform numerous, critical roles in biochemical processes. If
scientists can determine how proteins work, new and improved medicines may be
developed.The functions of most organic molecules are determined by their
three-dimensional structure. If scientists can determine the structure of a
protein, this knowledge may allow the development of new and improved medicine
and synthetic products.

In the electronic materials experiments, five
kinds of semiconductor crystals were grown using four specialized furnaces -
the gradient heating furnace, the image furnace, the crystal growth furnace and
the continuous heating furnace. Semiconductors were melted and solidified
slowly to obtain high quality crystal.The resulting crystals were returned
to Earth for in-depth study and may lead to a better understanding of
manufacturing similar crystals on Earth. This eventually may lead to improved
semiconductors and superconductors, and more efficient electronic
components.

Fluid dynamics and transport phenomena experiments were
studied the underlying physics at work when fluids were subjected to different
conditions under microgravity conditions.Liquid drops were levitated and
manipulated using sound waves in the Drop Dynamics in Space and Interference
with Acoustic Field experiment.Two other experiments - the Study of Bubble
Behavior and Marangoni-Induced Convection in Materials Processing Under
Microgravity - were studied Marangoni convection, fluid movement caused by
surface tension variations between regions of different temperatures.On
Earth, liquids are affected by buoyancy-driven convection. When a fluid is
heated, lighter fluids rise and heavier fluids fall. In microgravity, this is
much weaker, allowing Marangoni or surface tension driven convection to be
studied. Marangoni convection is one of many phenomena that must be better
understood for materials processing techniques to become more
effective.

New types of glasses and ceramics also may be developed
through containerless processing methods. The Preparation of Optical Materials
Used in Non-Visible Region experiment was created a non-silicone-based glass
like that used in infrared-detecting devices such as telescope lenses.This
was accomplished in an acoustic levitation furnace. This furnace used sound
waves to suspend, combine and melt ingredients in microgravity. It formed a
glass after cooling. Containerless processing eliminates the possibility of
introducing impurities, perhaps leading to glasses that will transmit more
light.The image furnace also was used for two glass and ceramics
experiments. The High Temperature Behavior of Glass experiment collected data
on the physical processes behind glass melting. The Growth of Samarskite
Crystal in Microgravity produced a rare mineral compound to better understand
its properties and possible usefulness.

A series of ten metals and
alloys experiments studied the ways that ingredients may be combined to form
new, improved materials. The large isothermal furnace heated elements to a
liquid state under various levels of pressure and cool them from the molten
state to a useable solid.On Earth, these processes are affected by
gravity's pull. In space, substances can be mixed with much more control as
they float in a weightless condition. The result is a more uniformly combined
material with fewer impurities.The understanding of such processing may
lead to lighter, more stress-resistant metals, as well as more uniform
semiconductors and superconductors. Such materials may have a broad range of
uses - from cars to computers to construction.The Casting of
Superconducting Filamentary Composite Materials and the Preparation of
Nickel-Base Dispersion Strengthened Alloys experiments contributed to this
field of study.

The Space Acceleration Measurement System was
used for the fourth time in Spacelab to collect data about acceleration forces
experienced during the mission. This system of three sensor heads was located
in the Spacelab-J module. Such information will assist planners in developing
scientific equipment and in placing sensitive experiments where they are least
likely to be disturbed.

Two biological experiments separated
biological sample mixtures, composed of several types of cells or proteins,
into individual purified fractions consisting of a particular protein or
cell-type using electrical fields.

Three cell culturing experiments grow
plant and animal cells to test the influence of gravity on development and
function at the cellular level. One such test was the production of antibodies
in space.

Other experiments in the life sciences studied how gravity
affects the development of animals. An experiment entitled Effects of
Weightlessness on the Development of Amphibian Eggs Fertilized in Space studied
the role of gravity in fertilization and development.Female frogs were
carried aboard Spacelab-J. Their eggs were fertilized during the flight and
developed in a microgravity environment. Some eggs were fixed at a certain
point in their development, while others were allowed to develop into tadpoles
and adult frogs.Another experiment to study the role of gravity on the
early development of animals was The Effect of Low Gravity on Calcium
Metabolism and Bone Formation. This study examined how microgravity affects
calcium metabolism and bone formation in chick embryos.

Several
experiments examined the physiology of living organisms on this mission. These
experiments revealed more about how organisms function in the space
environment. Several experiments focused on the physiology of the
vestibular-ocular system.One experiment, The Comparative Measurement of
Visual Stability in Earth and Cosmic Space, studied the effects of
microgravity on visual stability. This experiment examined head and eye
movements while the crew member visually tracked a flickering light
target.Another experiment designed to study the vestibular-ocular system
was The Neurophysiological Study on Visuo-vestibular Control of Posture and
Movement in Fish During Adaptation to Weightlessness. In this experiment,
two Japanese koi fish (carp) were exposed to a varying light stimulus. One fish
had its otolith structure removed. The otolith is a gravity-sensing structure
in the inner ear. This fish's response was compared to the other fish to
identify differences in how each reacts to the same stimulus.Three crew
members participated in experiments on physical adaptation to space. While
awake, each was wearing a special suit fitted with various sensors that monitor
and record various physical responses. Urine collection will gauge the intake
and output of fluids, which shift toward the upper body in
microgravity.Space motion sickness is an element of general Space
Adaptation Syndrome that affects many space travelers. A possible
countermeasure for this was studied in an experiment entitled The Autogenic
Feedback Training Experiment: A Preventative Method for Space Motion Sickness;
Autogenic Feedback Training for Vestibular Symptomology. This two-part
experiment was a continuation from an experiment that flew on the Spacelab-3
mission (STS-51B). On Spacelab-J two
crew members were participants in this experiment.One crew member used
biofeedback, a technique where one becomes aware of unconscious or involuntary
bodily processes (such as heartbeat and skin temperature), in order to
consciously control them. The goal is to train astronauts to overcome the
effects of space motion sickness without using artificial means, such as drugs.
The second participant, the control, had not been trained in biofeedback
techniques. But that participant's responses to similar circumstances were
recorded. Data collected from the sensor suits they will wear also may help
predict the likelihood of space motion sickness in future candidates for space
travel.In space, muscles do not have to work as hard as they do under
gravity's influence. Bones do not receive the same stress that they do when
under a gravitational field. As a result, crew members from previous missions
have lost calcium from bones and protein from muscles during flight. These
losses could become a serious problem if crews spend many months or years in a
microgravity environment. Several experiments being flown aboard Spacelab-J
were designed to study this problem. These experiments gathered information
about the process and extent of bone and muscle loss after exposure to space.
Two experiments specifically studied bone loss. Fertilized chicken eggs and rat
bone cells were examined after the mission for cartilage growth and bone
formation.To study how muscle mass is lost while in space, the Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) After Exposure to Microgravity experiment employed
MRI to examine muscle and bone in selected crew members before and after the
mission. MRI used a magnetic field and radio waves to produce an image of the
inside of the body, much better than conventional x-rays, but unlike
conventional x-rays, it has no known health hazards. The MRI allowed
investigators to examine calf and thigh muscles and to look for changes in
spinal bone marrow and discs (vertebrae).An understanding of the radiation
environment in space and the effects of radiation on life forms is critical
before long-term space journeys are undertaken. To examine the biological
effects of space radiation, fruit fly larvae were flown in special incubators
exposed to the cosmic ray environment. When the flies hatch, they were examined
for radiation-induced mutations.When intravenous (IV) fluids are
administered to a patient on Earth, gravity aids in their delivery and flow.
The absence of gravity presents a problem should such medical treatment be
needed during a space mission. Therefore, the Fluid Therapy System was tested
on Spacelab-J. The tests had examined the production of medicines and the
administration of IV fluids in the absence of gravity.

Twelve Get Away
Special (GAS) canisters (10 with experiments, 2 with ballast)
were carried in the payload bay.

The Israeli Space Agency Investigation
About Hornets (ISAIAH) experiment was carried on Endeavour's middeck to
research the effect of weightlessness on combs built by oriental
hornets.The oriental hornet has a unique ability to build combs in the
direction of gravity. Terrestrial studies using centrifugal force to simulate
different directions of gravity other than Earth's gravity have shown that such
forces are the only factor that determines the direction a comb is built.
ISAIAH was designed to obtain insight into this unique trait of the oriental
hornet by testing the hornets' ability to orient their combs when in
weightlessness.ISAIAH fitted into one middeck locker and consisted of two
compartments. A front compartment contained electronics, a blower, two tape
recorders and front panel controls for the experiment. A back compartment
contained 18 test chambers of various shapes and a metronome. Each of the nine
top side chambers had a lamp to simulate day and night, an audio sensor and a
food and water container. Each of the bottom side chambers remained in constant
darkness when the experiment is inside the locker.Two Lexan windows, one on
the top and another on the bottom, allowed the crew to view and photograph the
progress of the experiment.The ISAIAH experiments revealed that hornets
were unable to built honeycombs in weightlessness.

The Shuttle
Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) was designed to demonstrate the feasibility
of amateur short-wave radio contacts between the Space Shuttle crew and ground
amateur radio operators, often called ham radio operators.
SAREX also served as an educational opportunity for
schools around the world to learn about space first hand by speaking directly
to astronauts aboard the Shuttle via ham radio. Contacts with certain schools
were included in planning the mission.STS-47 crew members Jerome
Apt,
call sign N5QWL, and Mamoru
Mohri, call sign 7L2NJY, operated
SAREX. Ham operators communicated with the Shuttle
using VHF FM voice transmissions and digital packet.

The Solid
Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) was a study of how flames spread in
microgravity. Comparing data on how flames spread in microgravity with
knowledge of how flames spread on Earth may contribute to improvements in fire
safety and control equipment.In the SSCE planned for
STS-47/SL-J, scientists tested how flames spread along
a instrumented filter paper sample in a test chamber containing 35% oxygen and
65% nitrogen at 1.5 atmospheric pressure.

The Space Acceleration
Measurement System (SAMS) was designed to measure and record low-level
acceleration that the Spacelab experiences during typical on-orbit activities.
The three SAMS sensor heads were mounted on or near experiments to measure the
acceleration environment experienced by the research package. The signals from
these sensors were amplified, filtered and converted to digital data before it
was stored on optical disks.For the first SL-J mission, the main unit of
the Space Acceleration Measurement System was mounted in the SMIDEX Rack of the
Spacelab module, near the aft end of the module. Its three remote sensor heads
were mounted on the First Material Processing Test Modular Electronic
Levitator, Life Science and Rack #9.

The Ultraviolet Plume Experiment
(UVPI) was an instrument on the Low-Power Atmospheric Compensation
Experiment (LACE) satellite launched by the Strategic Defense Initiative
Organization in February 1990. LACE was in a 43-degree inclination orbit of 290
n.m. Imagery of Columbia's engine firings or attitude control system firings
were taken on a non-interference basis by the UVPI whenever an opportunity was
available during the
STS-47 mission.

The Air Force Maui Optical
Site (AMOS) tests allowed ground- based electro-optical
sensors located on Mt. Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, to collect imagery and
signature data of the orbiter during cooperative overflights. The scientific
observations made of the orbiter, while performing reaction control system
thruster firings, water dumps or payload bay light activation, and were used to
support the calibration of the
AMOS sensors and the validation of spacecraft
contamination models. The
AMOS tests had no payload unique flight hardware and
only required that the orbiter be in predefined attitude operations and
lighting conditions.

Among the
GAS Canisters was G-102, sponsored by the Boy Scouts
of America's Exploring Division in cooperation with the TRW Systems Integration
Group, Fairfax, VA. The project was named Project POSTAR and was the first
space experiment created entirely by members of the Boy Scouts of
America.

Also on board were two experiments prepared by Ashford School
in Kent, United Kingdom, which, at the time, was a girls-only school. The
school had won a competition run by Independent Television News. The
experiments were contained in G-520. The first one injected a few grams of
cobalt nitrate crystals to a sodium silicate to create a chemical garden in
weightless condition. The growths, which were photographed 66 times as they
developed, spread out in random directions, twisted, and, in some cases, formed
spirals. A second experiment to investigate how Liesegang rings formed in space
failed to operate correctly due to friction in parts of the mechanism. On its
return, the experiment was exhibited in the London Science Museum.

The
mission duration was extended for one day, to complete all planned
experiments.